Kimber Kable

Every once in a long while we run across a product which is so clearly and dramatically superior to anything else in its category that we just have to sit back and shake our heads in amazement. We've known for quite a while that you cannot use a generic USB cable to hook up your USB DAC or external hard drive to your computer and still expect to get optimal performance. Audiophile-grade USB cables do make a difference and we've easily heard those differences in the past. However, when we heard the new Select series of USB cables from Kimber Kable, the improvements we heard over other audiophile-grade USB cables (which we'd previously thought were excellent) were so significant and startling that we could have believed we were listening to an entirely different and much more expensive system. The clarity, immediacy, spatiality, and dynamic contrast took such a quantum leap that it was almost is if we'd switched from a low-resolution MP3 file to the best high-resolution track available! Here are some of the design aspects of the Select USB cables which contribute to their fabulous performance:

1. Every aspect that contributes to assuring the signal integrity of a USB signal being carried in the presence of the DC power line that also travels down all USB cables has been optimized.
    
2. The dielectric or insulator being used in the signal line is the premier material for that application, having a combination of low signal dissipation, low dielectric constant, and excellent linearity (low distortion) at the high frequencies typical of USB signals.
    
3. Heavy 19-gauge wire used for the DC power line insures very low power loss caused by DC voltage drop. Kimber Kable knows of no other USB cable that uses such a robust DC conductor.
    
4. A thin, tinned copper foil of exceptional shielding characteristics is used. Because this foil is very delicate, it is wound helically around an aramid core. (Aramid is a very strong fiber used in aerospace, body armor, and other demanding applications.) The fine copper foil provides excellent shielding while the aramid core gives strength and flexibility to the assembly. This composite is braided around the cable assembly, providing nearly 100% coverage and concomitant superb shielding.
    
5. The shield is circumferentially bonded to the connector body to reduce drastically emission and reception of electromagnetic interference. This is a time-consuming and expensive process that is often overlooked but is absolutely critical to reduce EMI emissions and interference.
    
6. The DC power lines and the differential signaling lines are braided into a geometry that optimizes the interaction between power and signal conductors.
    
7. Only the finest copper and silver conductors of the same grade as present in all Kimber Kable Select models are used for the Select USB cables.
    

There are three models, The all-copper 2416 at $495 for a one meter run, the copper-silver hybrid 2426 at $795 for a one meter run, and the all-silver 2436 at $1195 for a one meter run. All three have the same wonderful sonics we described above, but they do achieve increasing levels of clarity and detail as you progress up the line. While this may seem like a lot of money for a USB cable, every person for whom we auditioned them heard the difference immediately, and the only one who didn't buy one didn't have a music server where he could use it. That's a 100% acknowledgment of the value of these cables by our customers. It doesn't get any better.